Portrait and biographical record of Macoupin County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with biographies of all the governors of the state, and of the presidents of the United States, Part 81

Author: Biographical Publishing Company
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 920

USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > Portrait and biographical record of Macoupin County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with biographies of all the governors of the state, and of the presidents of the United States > Part 81

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

whom he was furnishing supplies and merchandise. Owing to ill health he sold out his business in February, 1888, with a view of locating in the West. Upon retiring from business he received flattering letters from some of the most substantial wholesale houses, such as Franklin Mac Veagh & Co., Dean Bros. & Lincoln, of Chicago; J. W. Bunn & Co., Springfield, III., and Jacob Furth & Co., St. Louis, Mo., testifying to his straightfor- ward and honorable business dealings and regret- ting to lose his patronage.

During the summer of 1888 Mr. Grove took an extended trip through the West with a view to locating, but not finding the country suitable, he returned home and in October, 1888, bought a quarter section which comprised one of the finest and best improved farms in the county. As above stated this is located on section 36, Bird Township, and here he has since been engaged as a farmer and dealer in stock. His political views are expressed in the platform of the Republican party and al- though he is not an office seeker he has the confid- ence of the men of his party and his counsel on political matters is highly esteemed. Ile is a liber- al contributor to church and benevolent purposes.

R EV. F. A. OSTROP, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Carlinville, is one of the ablest men in the priesthood in this section of the State. He was born in Westphalia, Germany, and in the splendid schools of his native land he was given every advantage to obtain a liberal education. He early showed unmistakable signs of superior scholarship, and made rapid pro- gress in his studies. By teaching he earned money with which to advance his education, and attended some of the best schools in Germany. He was finally graduated in Westphalia, where he had been well grounded not only in theology but in medi- cine as well.

Father Ostrop continued studying and teaching in the Fatherland until 1858. when he came to this country. He located at Alton, where he joined the priesthood, and was ordained in 1859. He then

became pastor of St. Mary's Church in that city. He presided over that church until 1872, when he went to Quincy to take charge of St. Boniface Church. He remained there until 1877, and in that year came to Carlinville, and has held the pastorate of St. Joseph Church ever since. The affairs of the church are now in a very flourishing condition. The building is a commodious brick structure, of a modern style of architecture, and is most artistically finished and furnished. A neat parsonage and school building are in connection with the church, a view of which accompanies this sketch.

EERT SCHMIDT, who is engaged in general farming and stock-raising on sec- tion 22, Gillespie Township, is one of the thrifty German farmers of the county. He was born in Friesland, in the province of Hanover, on the 10th of March, 1834, and is one of a large fan- ily of children. The parents spent their entire lives in Hanover, where the father died at the age of fifty years, the mother's death occurring at the age of forty years. Both were members of the Lutheran Church.

In the usual manner of farmer lads, the subject" of this sketch spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and his education was acquired in the pub- lie schools. When he had attained to years of ma- turity he was united in marriage with Tretke Milf. who was born on the 10th of April, 1838. Iler parents, natives of Ilanover, came to America in early life, and spent their last days in Macoupin County, dying when well advanced in years. They too were members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt began their domestic life in the Fatherland, and after the birth of their eldest child, a daughter, they sailed for America, taking passage on a steamer, which left the port of Bremen April 7, 1851. At length they safely arrived in New York, and from there came at once to Illinois, set- tling in Macoupin County, where they worked in the families of rich farmers until they had acquired enough to purchase a small tract of land. Little by little they added to their savings uotil they had

ST. JOSEPH'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, SCHOOL AND RECTORY, CARLINVILLE, ILL. FATHER P. A . OSTROP, RECTOR.

LIBRARY ( it THE UNIVERSITY CE ! ! MAIN

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

enough to buy a few acres in Gillespie Township. Together they worked on, and as the result of their industry, enterprise and perseverance, acquired a comfortable property. Mr. Schmidt now owns two hundred acres of valuable land, which is di- vided into rich and fertile fields. The farm is well supplied with necessary buildings, including a good residence and barns and is well stocked.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have been born eleven children, of whom two are now deceased -- Meta and Milf. Those who still survive are: Weptka, wife of Frank Weyen, a resident farmer of Gillespie Township; John, who wedded Fretka Weyen and is engaged in agricultural pursuits in the same township; Anna, wife of John Sattagass, a resident farmer of lloney Point Township; Ettie, wife of John Schmidt, who is living on a farm in Gillespie Township; Ella. wife of Tace Weyen, and agriculturist of Cahokia Township; Charles, Milf, Merta and Jessie, all at home. The mother of this family was called to her final rest on the 25th of October, 1885, and her death was mourned by many friends. She was a member of the Lutheran Church, and was beld in high regard by all who know her. Mr. Schmidt is also of the same re- ligious faitli, and he exercises his right of franchise in support of the Democratic party, with which his sons also affiliate. He may truly be called a self- made man, for his fortune was carved out by him- self, and his success is the result of his own efforts.

OIIN BRUBAKER. No class of people has been more helpful in bringing about the high standing that this county enjoys than the men who have developed its rich agricultn- ral resources, and among these is the subject of this sketch, who has a finely improved farm on section 20, Girard Township. Mr. Brubaker was born in Roanoke County, Va., September 4, 1832, and is the eighth child and second son of Joel and Elizabeth (Fisher) Brubaker. For parental history see sketch of Moses Brubaker.

Mr. Brubaker was reared in his native county, and resided there until 1859, when, with his wife

and three children, he went to Clarke County, Ohio. He located ten miles from the city of Springfield, near the village of Northampton, where he and his brother Noah bought a quarter section of land in company. There was a good brick bouse on the place, also a log stable, and one hun- dred and twenty acres cleared. They farmed to- gether until i864, when our subject sold his inter- est in the farm in order to try agricultural pursuits on the rich soil in this county. After coming here lie rented a farm in Girard Township one season, and during that time he bought the farm that he now occupies. Ile has erected a neat and substantial set of frame buildings, and otherwise improved his homestead so that it is a valuable piece of prop- erty, and gives evidence of his skill and practicality as a farmer.

March 9, 1854, Mr. Brubaker and Miss Mary Neff were wedded. Mrs. Brubaker was born in Franklin County, Va., November 20, 1833. ller father, Isaac Neff, was a native of the same county, and it is thought that his father, who bore the same name as himself, was also a Virginian by birth. The father of the latter, Jacob Nafe (the family name wing originally spelled that way ), was a native of Germany. When he was young his father started with him and two other sons, named llenry and Bastian, for America. The father died on the voyage, and the three sous were bound out on their arrival in this country to pay their passage. Later one of them settled in Virginia, one in Maryland and one in Ohio. Jacob Nafe married Katie Flory, and resided in Franklin County, Va., whither he removed from Maryland. The maiden name of the great-grandmother of Mrs. Brubaker was Spangler. Mrs. Brubaker's grandfather was a farmer, and spent his last years in Franklin County, Va. llis homestead was located a half mile from Teelsville, on the stage road from Salem to Rocky Mount, and there for some years he kept a public house. The maiden name of his wife was Barbara Myers. Both were members of the German Bap- tist Brethren Church.

Mrs. Brubaker's father was reared to agricultu- ral pursuits, and followed farmning in Virginia un- til 1868, when he came to Illinois, and now resides at Auburn, Sangamon County, in his eighty second

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year. The maiden name of Mrs. Brubaker's mother was Elizabeth Peters. She was born in Franklin County, Va., and died in her native State in 1838.

Dur subject and his good wife are consist. ent and conscientious Christians, as is shown by their conduct in everyday affairs of life, and in them the German Baptist Brethren Church has two of its best members. There have been born to them a large family of children, whose names are as follows: Riley F., Caleb C., Josiah D)., Lizzie M., Kate B., Barbara, who died in infancy: Isaac Neff, Nicholas J., Martha R., Charles 11. and Al- pheus O. Kate married Frank Snell and Martha is the wife of Isaac Harshbarger. The children are all active members of the same church to which their parents belong.

OIN P. MATTHEWS. M. D., President of the Illinois State Medical Society, is one of those progressive, wide-awake men who at- tain to a high standing in professional circles and are looked up to as models of intelligence and manly character. He has a line education and his professional studies included hospital practice so that when he was ready to open an office he had a sound foundation upon which to build his hopes of future success. Not content with this, he has con- tinned his habits of study and thought in and with professional societies and in his own private de- partment. In the diagnosis of diseases he is careful and accurate. while in his treatment he shows a knowledge of the nature of drugs and their effect upon the human system that has given him the gratitude and high regard of many to whom he has brought returning wealth or whose friends he has relieved.

Dr. Matthews is an Englishman, having been born at Court Farm, Hampton Bishop, Herfordshire. His father, John Matthews, was a native of the same shire and was reared to agricultural pursuits. Early in the spring of 1844 that gentleman, with his wife and six children, set sail from Liverpool on the "Ashburton", and landed at New York thirty-nine days later. He located in that part of Lawrence

County now included in Mercer County, Pa., and bought a farm near Sharon, on which he followed his vocation the rest of his life. He died after he had lived in America a score of years. His wife, formerly Caroline Myra Cooper, was also a native of Herfordshire. She preceded him to the silent land about a twelve-month, breathing her last in 1863. They reared eight children named respect- ively : Jane, William S., John P., Henry, Arthur, Frederick L., Myra A. and Elizabeth II.

The subject of this life history attended the British and Foreign School at Ross, Ilerfordshire, in his boyhood, and after the removal to Pennsyl- vania he spent some time in the public schools. He then went to Sharon Academy and later entered the mathematical department of Duff's Commercial College at Pittsburg. He still further advanced his education by an attendance of two years in Alle- gheny College in Meadville. In 1857 he came to this State and for three years was engaged in teach- ing, the time being divided between Kane, Greene County, and Greenville Academy. During the last year and a half he devoted all his leisure time to reading medicine with Dr. Peter Fenity, and when he resigned his position in the academy he went to Keokuk, Iowa, and took a course of lectures in the Keokuk Medical College.

Dr. Matthews then began practicing in Scottville, this county. and devoted himself zealously to his work until 1862. He then entered the United States service as Assistant Surgeon of the One Ilundred and Twenty-second Illinois Infantry, but after he had been with the regiment a year was obliged to resign on account of ill health. Hle next opened an office in Carlinville and practiced here until 1865, when he went to New York in order to secure the advantages of hospital work. He was zealous and observing and walked the hospital to good advantage, and before the year had expired was graduated from the Long Island College Hospital. He returned and resumed his work in Carlinville and has since been actively engaged here.

In 1865 Dr. Matthews was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth A. Palmer, daughter of Gen. John M. and Melinda A. Palmer. She is a lady of rare intelligence and culture, a graduate of the classical course at Almira College and commands the respect

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of her associates. She was born in Carlinville and the highest interests of her life have eentered here. Dr. and Mrs. Matthews have three living children : John Palmer, A. M .; Lucy Myra, and Frederick Webster. The first named was graduated from Blackburn University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Class of '87, and in 1890 had the degree of Master of Arts conferred upon him. He is now a student in the medical department of the Northwestern University at Chicago and will grad. uate in the Class of '91. The daughter is now a student at Blackburn University and the younger son is in the public school.

Dr. Matthews is a member of the International Medical Congress and attended the session at Wash- ington in 1887, and that at Berlin, Germany, in 1890. lle belongs to the British Medical Associa- tion, American Medical Association, Medical Soci- ety of Central Illinois, Society of Macoupin County for Medical Improvement, and Fellow of the Amer- ican Rhinological Society. He is a Mason, belong- ing to Mt. Nebo Lodge, No. 76, F. & A. M.

OSEPH DODSON represents the grain trade at Shipman and also deals in flour and feed. He is a native of Boonville,.Cooper County, Mo., and was born October 17, 1840. His parents, Eli Dodson and Mary M. Williams, were natives of Ohio and Illinois, and were married in this State, but later lived on a farm in Missouri. They removed from Cooper to Cass County and there the father turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. In 1856 they came back to this State, settled at Woodburn, this county, and there Mr. Dodson carried on a general store some fifteen years. During that time he built a flouring mill and operated the same. When he retired from business he removed to Shipman, where his wife died in 1875, at the age of sixty-six years. He subsequently resided with a son at Medora, and died there in 1876, having passed the seventy-first milestone on life's journey.

The parental family included ten sons and daughters, but four crossed the river of death

before they bad become adults. William died in Chicago in 1871; Emily married James R. Ament and died in Litchfield; Isaac is living at Lebanon, Mo .; Joseph will be mentioned at greater length in the accompanying paragraphs; James E. is a resident of Warrensburg; Francis M. lives in Carlinville.

During the boyhood of our subjeet the common schools in Missouri were not conspicuous for an extended course of study, nor were the buildings in which they were held attractive or even com- fortable. The sessions were chiefly during the winter. The school houses were built of logs and the opening left by removing one answered for a window. The benches were of slabs without any support for the backs of the pupils, but the brain was expected to work just as well as if the body were not tired. Mr. Dodson gained such know- ledge as he could under the circumstances, and being of a practical nature he learned the use of that which he studied. llis boyhood was passed on the farm and during his youth he was a clerk in stores.

Having come to this State with his parents Mr. Dodson has been connected with the business interests of Central Illinois since he grew to man- hood. When he became of age he associated with his brother William in the milling business in Woodburn and Shipman, and the partnership con- tinued until 1877. The next year he established his present business and in the years that have passed he has built up a good trade and prospered in basket and store. He has one of the largest and best residences in the town and is considered one of the men of substance and business honor.

December 18, 1867, Mr. Dodson was married to Miss Mary M., daughter of Richard P. and Catharine (Roberts) Harris. This estimable lady was born in Morgan County in September, 1842. Her happy union has been blest by the birth of six children named respectively Edwin A., Fanny C., Abigail E., Eva A., Rosa M. and Bertha V. Mrs. Dodson is the eldest child of her parents and her brothers and sisters who grew to maturity are Melinda E., Emily P., Sarah J., Maria C., Abigail C., Sophia, Newton D), and Minnie L. Her father was born April 8, 1821, and her mother December

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10 of the same year, and both came with their parents from Tennessee to this State in their child- hood. Their homes were in Morgan County, and their marriage was solemnized at Jacksonville October 5, 1841. Mr. flarris died December 10, 1865, and his widow passed away May 26, 1866. In religion they were Methodists and in politics Mr. Harris was a Democrat. His occupation was farming.

Mr. Dodson is identified with the Masonic order and the Knights of Honor. He was formerly a Democrat but is now connected with the Prohibi- tion party. For fifteen years he served as School Director and is now a member of the Town Council. Ilis religious home is in the Christian Church. in which he has good standing and a reputation that extends beyond the borders of that religious body.

ENRY HOELLM'ER. In the past twenty years the Prairie State has perhaps under- gone as important changes as have any of the sisterhood of Central States. There were not originally so many difficulties to over- come as in States where the coutour of the land was so rugged. Boulders had not to be broken up nor forests felled before the agriculturist could plow and sow and reap. Farmers here have the advantage, for in the fertile lands the sod has sim- ply to be broken and the plow put in the land to bring forth a rich harvest of cereals that are a for- tune in themselves. The wealth of the State de- pends as much upon its farming clement as upon the manufactures for which it is so noted, and the people from every nation have assisted in making this one of the noted agricultural districts of the world.

Our subject, who is of German origin, has lent his aid to developing the country, having for the past twenty years devoted his efforts to the im- provement and cultivation of bis farm located on section 1, Mt. Olive Township. The tract of land which he has under cultivation is not noticeable

for its extent, comprising only eighty acres, but every acre is made to produce as much as nature will allow.

lle of whom we write came to the county in 1865 and has always lived on the farm where he now resides. Ile came hither from Morgan County where he lived four years after coming to the United States. He was born in what is now the Province of Ilanover, Germany, June 21, 1838. llis parents were Herman and Catherine (Straven) Hoellmer, who were natives of the same Province in which our subject was born. They lived in their native province until their family of children were all born. The children were five in number and of these three are yet living. In 1857 the parents and family left Germany and emigrated to the U'nited States, taking a ship at Bremen on a sailer and landing after a voyage of several weeks at New Orleans. They came thence to St. Louis, afterward to Morgan County, and thence to Mt. Olive Township, in this county, and have lived here since that time. The mother died in 1870 at the age of sixty-eight years. She left a lasting regret in the hearts of her husband and children, for she was a kind and affectionate wife and mother, un- sellish and unswerving in her sense of duty to her family. She was a member of the Lutheran Church. The father is now ninety years of age, and is the loved charge of our subject, who has taken care of him since reaching twenty one years of age. He is yet active in mind, although feeble in body. All his life has been spent in the hardest work until he grew so old as to be incapacitated for such heavy labor. He, like his wife, is a Lutheran, in his church relations.

Our subject was eighteen years of age when his parents came to the United States and ever since that time he has devoted himself to making a posi- tion in the world. His marriage took place at Mt. Olive, bis wife's maiden name being Anna Saathoff. She was born in Ilanover, Germany, April 12, 1847, and is a daughter of Charles and Wepke (Gilliam ) Saathoff, both natives of Hanover. Her father, who was a farm laborer. died in his native kingdom while yet in middle life. llis wife and children who survive him came to this country in 1865 and settled in New York. there the mother

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died two years later at the age of fifty-five years. She and her husband were members of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Hoellmer, the wife of our subject, after landing in New York City with her family lived there for seven months, and then came on to Mt. Olive, making that place her home thercafier until her marriage.

Our subject and bis amiable wife are the parents of ten children, only one of whom, Anna, is de- ceased. She passed to the better land while a mere child, being only four years of age. The living children are llerman H., Lena, Wilhelmina, Deit- rich C., Meta M., Henry, William, Maria, and Ed- ward Il. The eldest son is still at home and is his father's strongest helper on the farm; Lena became the wife of Fred W. Daberkow, a minister in the Lutheran Church at Monroe, Minn. The other children are all still at home and fill the house with their merry jests and gay badinage while they are the help and comfort of their parents. Both our subject and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church as are also their children. Mr. Hoellmer is in his political preference a Republican.

UGH MILES ENOS. A prosperous farmer and a public-spirited citizen is to be found in the gentleman whose name is given at the head of this paragraph. His fine farm is in an excellent state of cultivation and comprises three hundred and sixty-two acres of as good land as is to be seen in Macoupin County. Upon it he carries on general farming and stock raising, and the excellent set of buildings which he has erected on his land, as well as the neat appearance of his well-kept farm, bespeak him as a man of more than ordinary ability and enterprise.

The father of our subject. Thomas Enos, was born in the Southern part of Alabama, and the mother, Barbara Jacobs, was a native of South Carolins. Their wedded home was in the moun- tainous regions of Eastern Tennessee, and there Thomas Enos died in July, 1856. His bereaved widow afterward removed to Macoupin County and passed her last days at the home of her son

Hugh, where she died January 3, 1888. They had a family of eight children, six sons and two dangh- ters, of whom our subject was the third in the order of birth.

April 9, 1819, was the date upon which our sub- ject was born in Blount County, Tenn., and there be spent the early years of his life, up to the age of twenty. When he became a young man he de- cided to remove from the old home, and take his chances with others, in the State of Illinois, which had come into existence as a State the year before his birth. His first stopping- place was at Jersey- ville and near it he found employment upon a farm for some three months. Later he came into this county and worked for three years in Bird Town- ship. The young man was now smitten with the gold fever and determined to seek hls fortunes in the great West. Ile went to California in 1852 and there engaged in mining and remained there until the spring of 1856. Tie had now bad enough of the Pacific Slope and settled down to the peaceful pursuits of farming in Bird Township, this county. and has since made it his home. Mr. Enos was married in Bird Township to Miss Mary White, who was born in England, in Lancashire, her par- ents being Thomas and Anna (Abbey ) White, who emigrated from England and spent the remainder of their days in Bird Township.

To Mr. and Mrs. Enos have been granted seven children to share their parental care and affection. They are namely : John J., Thomas, who married Miss Bessie Waters; Sarah, who is the wife of Lewis Waters; . James, Hugh JI. Jr., who married Lora McGinnis; Elvira and Amy. The political views of our subject are in accord with the plat- form of the Republican party and he has ever sus- tained by his vote and voice, the organization which placed Abraham Lincoln in the Presidential chair. llis earnest interest in educational matters has led his neighbors to choose him for a number of ycars as a member of the School Board. Mr. and Mrs. Enos are earnest and conscientious mem- bers of the Shiloh Baptist Church, in which they find a broad field for Christian labor and where their influence is felt and highly prized. He is a man of independent thought and in all matters of importance, gives due consideration to every side

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Portrait and biographical record of Macoupin County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, together with biographies of all the governors of the state, and of the presidents of the United States, Part 81

Author: Biographical Publishing Company Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 920

Author: Biographical Publishing Company
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 920